Modi visited the memorial at Boragaon in Guwahati, paid floral tributes at the entrance and garlanded the statue of Khargeswar Talukdar, the first martyr of the Assam Agitation.
Credit: X/@narendramodi
Guwahati: A day after charging the Opposition Congress of "trying to protect the infiltrators," Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited the martyrs' memorial of Assam Agitation or the anti-foreigners movement that had rocked the state for six years between 1979 and 1985.
Modi visited the memorial at Boragaon in Guwahati, paid floral tributes at the entrance and garlanded the statue of Khargeswar Talukdar, the first martyr of the Assam Agitation. Assam Governor Lakhshman Prasad Acharya, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister and former Assam CM, Sarbananda Sonowal, beside others were with the PM as he took a tour of the memorial.
The memorial was opened on December 10 this year to commemorate the sacrifices of 860 indigenous people, who had died during the movement. Thousands of suspected foreigners also died in conflicts during the agitation.
"The sacrifices made during the Assam movement are an integral part of Assam’s identity and collective memory. We remain resolute in our commitment to working tirelessly for Assam’s progress, prosperity and cultural pride," Modi later posted on X.
Modi's visit to the memorial, according to BJP workers in Assam, not only recognised the sacrifices made by those who who fought against the "foreigners" but also asserted the party's commitment to protect Assam from the problem of foreigners.
Modi's visit is significant given the fact that the ruling BJP is once again banking on Assam's decades-long problem of "illegal migration" from neighbouring Bangladesh to corner the Opposition in the Assembly elections slated in March-April. BJP considers the Bengali-speaking Muslims as foreigners and as a threat to the identity and culture of Assam.
"This is an emotional moment for me and everyone in Assam....I could not help but reminded of those dark days in Assam's history when the Congress party plundered the state on numerous counts - promoting illegal infiltration, massacring sons of the soil, taking the state down into financial abyss," CM Sarma, who has been vocal against the Bengali-speaking Muslims, posted on X.
Attack on Opposition
On Sunday, Modi again charged the Congress of having no concern for Assam, its people and their identity and settling "illegal infiltrators" for vote bank politics.
"This is why the Opposition oppose the purification of the voters list. Assam must be safeguarded from the poison of Opposition’s appeasement and vote-bank politics."
Later, the PM laid the foundation of Rs. 10,600 crores ammonia urea project at Namrup in eastern Assam.